Written by Epi Torres

On Thursday, November 2nd, the Fillmore High School Cross Country teams traveled to Ojai to compete in the Citrus Coast League Final. This meet will determine Citrus Coast Champions in 4 divisions and CIF Southern Section Prelim representatives in the Varsity races. Team competing were Carpinteria, Channel Islands, Fillmore, Hueneme, Malibu, Nordhoff, and Santa Paula.

The Junior Varsity Boys ran to a fourth place finish in their race. They were led by Vicente Lopez who finished in 6th place in a time of 19:40.66. He was followed by Juan Cumatz 11th in 19:52.27, Nicholas Cabrales 19th in 21:25.30, Juan Castro 38th in 23:04.46, Aaron Cordero 52nd in 25:03.37, Alexander Diaz 53rd in 25:35.86, and Philip Jimenez 56th in 26:01.84.

In the Varsity Girls race, Nataly Vigil once again led the Fillmore girls by running to a win, in a time of 19:50.50. Her teammates followed closely, capturing 7 of the top 9 places. Niza Laureano was second in 20:17.68, Leah Barragan 4th in 21:36.22, Diana Santa Rosa 6th in 21:46.66, Alexandra Martinez 7th in 21:47.38, Jessica Orozco 8th in 22:06.49, and Jacqueline Olivares 9th in 22:55.45. Nataly Vigil was undefeated this season, and was Citrus Coast League Champion.

The Varsity Boys finished in third place. Eddie Vigil led the Fillmore 7 with his 5th place finish in a time of 16:35.51. He was followed by Angel Garcia 7th in 16:58.64, Martin Manzo 11th in 17:39.68, Joshua Estrada 13th in 17:45.26, Diego Ramirez 14th in 17:48.29, Omar Heredia 23rd in 18:35.3, and Angel Laureano 32nd in 19:02.3.

The Junior Varsity girls were the most dominant Fillmore team to race on this day. They ran impressively, capturing the top 6 places and the Citrus Coast League Team Championship. Joseline Orozco ran to an individual league championship, posting a time of 24:42.68. She was followed by Miley Tello 2nd in 25:01.98, Luz Castaneda 3rd in 25:33.32, Michelle Setty 4th in 26:00.38, Natalie Perez 5th in 26:10.34, Jannet Vega 6th in 26:47.48, Cassandra Mendoza 8th in 27:51.47, and Xitlaly Guerrero 11th in 28:16.97.

This meet determined Citrus Coast final team standings, and individual all league selections. Both the Girls Junior Varsity and the Girls Varsity were undefeated in League competition, and thus captured Citrus Coast League Championships. The Junior Varsity Boys team finished in fourth for the season and the Varsity Boys finished in the 2nd.

The boys and girls Varsity team will prepare for postseason competition. All League qualifiers will head to Mt. San Antonio College and compete in their respective Divisional race with the goal of qualifying for the Southern Section Divisional Championship the follow weekend. Both of Fillmore’s Varsity teams will component November 11th. The boys will race at 11:10, and the girls will follow at 12:22.

By Epi Torres

On October 20th, the Flashes Cross Country teams traveled to Walnut, California to compete in the 75th running of the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational. This is the biggest cross country meet in the Nation, and is run over a challenging, 2.93 mile hilly course. This course is also the venue for Southern Section Division Prelims and Finals.

The sophomore’s girls were the first race of the day. This race was shortened to a distance of 1.8 miles due to excessive heat. Miley Tello led the girls with a 14th place finish in a time of 14:15. She was followed by Jannet Vega 38th in 15:31, Michelle Setty 39th in 15:31, Xitlali Guerrero 67th in 17:17, and Patzy Orozco 76th in 17:44. Miley Tello was a medal winner in this race. In the team competition the girls finished in 6th place.

The varsity boys followed. Eddie Vigil led this team with a second place finish in a time of 16:24. He was followed by Angel Garcia 5th in 17:01; Diego Ramirez 18th in 17:42; Joshua Estrada 27th in 18:04; Martin Manzo 52nd in 18:51; Omar Heredia 59th in 19:08; and Angel Laureano 70th in 19:25. Eddie Vigil and Angel Garcia were medal winners in this 2.93 mile race. In the team competition, the varsity boys finished in second, and were awarded a team plaque and 7 team medals.

In the sophomore boys race, Philip Jimenez was the lone competitor. Philip finished in 191st in 26:47.

Joseline Orozco was the first finisher for the Junior Varsity girls. Joseline finished in 36th place in a time of 23:44. She was followed by teammate Natalie Perez, who finished in 113th place in 27:10.

The junior varsity boys were led by Juan Cumatz. Juan finished in 50th place in a time of 19:34. He was followed by Vicente Lopez 66th in 19:57, Nick Cabrales 118th in 21:32; Damian Castaneda 154th in 22:50; Juan Castro 156th in 23:08; and Alex Diaz 182nd in 27:29. In the team competition, they finished in 15th place.

The Girls Varsity Sweepstake race, showcased a wealth of ranked teams from Divisions 3, 4, and 5. Nataly Vigil led the Fillmore girls with a 18th place finish in 19:25. She was followed by Niza Laureano 45th in 20:26; Leah Barragan 75th in 21:22; Diana Santa Rosa 77th in 21:29; Jessica Orozco 79th in 21:32; Alexandra Martinez 104th in 22:57; and Jacqueline Olivares 106th in 23:17. Nataly Vigil was a medal winner in this race. In the team competition, Fillmore was 14th.

The Fillmore Cross Country teams will now prepare for the Citrus Coast League Finals. Teams competing in this meet are Carpinteria, Channel Islands, Fillmore, Malibu, and Nordhoff. This meet is on November 2nd and is run over the challenging Lake Casitas course in Ojai. This meet will determine League Champions at all 4 levels, and also, who will represent the Citrus Coast League in the postseason Southern Section Division Prelims and Finals.

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Flashes Cross Country Shine at League Meet #2

By Epi Torres,
On Tuesday, October 10th, the Fillmore Cross Country teams traveled to College Park in Oxnard and completed in the second of three Citrus Coast League meets. These meets will determine League Championships and the Varsity teams that will advance to postseason Championship competition. League teams that lined up today were: Carpinteria, Channel Islands, Fillmore, Malibu, Nordhoff, and Santa Paula. The College Park course measures 3 miles, is a relatively flat loop course over grass and pavement.

Due to a scheduling conflict, and not enough time for four separate races. The four divisions: JV boys, JV girls, Varsity boys, and Varsity girls were combined into two races. All boys were run together in one race, and the girls were also grouped into one race. At the conclusion of each race, the four divisions were separated out to determine results for each of the four divisions.

The Varsity boys finished second in the team competition. Eddie Vigil led his teammates with a 5th finish in 16:11.53. He was followed by Angel Garcia 8th in 16:51.04, Joshua Estrada 10th in 16:55.85, Martin Manzo 16th in 17:15.20, Angel Laureano 25th in 17:34.96, and Omar Heredia 34th in 18:15.48. The second place team finish for Fillmore puts the team in a tie for the League title with on League Meet remaining this season.

The Varsity Girls race was won by the Fillmore girls for the second League meet in a row. Leading the Fillmore team with a first place finish was senior Nataly Vigil. Nataly cruised the course in a personal best time of 18:45. She was followed by Niza Laureano 3rd in 19:20.58, Diana Santa Rosa 5th in 20:23.69, Jessica Orozco 6th in 20:29.62, Leah Barragan 8th in 20:34.53, Alexandra Martinez 9th in 21:02.11, and Joseline Orozco 14th in 22;01.5. This second place team finish puts the Fillmore girls in sole possession of first place in the team competition.

The Junior Varsity Boys’ race top finisher for the Flashes was Juan Cumatz. Juan finished in 4th place in a time of 18:23:52. He was followed by Vicente Lopez 9th in 18:36.67, Nicholas Cabrales 20th in 20:15.24, Juan Castro 35th in 21:39.60, Damian Castaneda 39th in 22:05.32, James Torres 51st. In 23:03.73, Aaron Cordero 54th in 23:38.34, Alexander Diaz 60th in 25:31.37, and Philip Jimenez 64th in 26:29.38. In the team competition the Fillmore Junior Varsity team finished in fourth place.

The Junior Varsity Girls were the only Fillmore team to put up a perfect score by taking the top five spots, and six out of the top seven places in their race. This team was led by Jacqueline Olivares, who finished in first in a time of 22:43.86. She was followed by Miley Tello 2nd in 22:20.48, Jannet Vega 3rd in 25:17.53, Michelle Setty 4th in 24:27.58, Luz Castaneda 5th in 24:34.24, Natalie Perez 7th in 24:53.14, Julissa Mendoza 10th in 25:33, Citlali Guerrero 13th in 26:20.75, Cassandra Mendoza 16th in 26:51.97, Patzy Orozco 26th in 29:14.47, Veronica Enamorado 27th in 30:09.15, and Shaelynn Martinez 31st in 31:57.59. In the team standings, the Junior Varsity Girls are in first place.

The Flashes will next travel to Ojai on Saturday, October 14th to compete in the Ventura County Cross Country Championships. This meet is held on a hilly three mile course. The racing begins at 7:30 a.m., with the F/S Girls.

Written By Epi Torres

On Friday, September 22nd several members of the Fillmore High School Cross Country teams competed in the Raider Invitational at College Park in Oxnard. This cross-country meet provided the Flashes an opportunity to compete over the newly revised course that will be used for Citrus Coast League Meet #2.

The Girls Frosh/Soph race was the first race for the Flashes on this day. Miley Tello led the team with a 24th place finish in a time of 23:25.8. She was followed by Jannet Vega 25th in 23:28.04, Michelle Setty 39th in 24:12.30, Xitlaly Guerrero 55th in 25:35.23, Patzy Orozco 72nd in 26:50.71, and Cassandra Mendoza 84th in 29:04.72. In the team competition, the Frosh/Soph Girls were 7th.

Martin Manzo was the only Fillmore athlete to compete in the Varsity Boys division. Martin finished in 36th place in a personal best time of 16:54.16.

In the Girls Junior Varsity, Jacqueline Olivares was the lone Fillmore winner. Jacqueline ran to victory in a personal best time of 21:40. She was followed by Luz Castaneda 14th in 24:04.68, and Julissa Mendoza 15th in 24:09.9. All three girls were medal winners.

In the Boys Junior Varsity, Juan Cumatz led all Fillmore competitors capturing 12th place in a time of 17:56.55. He was followed by Vicente Lopez 16th in 18:04.36, Nicholas Cabrales 21st. 18:27.71, Juan Castro 60th in 21:03.82, James Torres 62nd in 21:12.44, Damian Castaneda 68th in 21:42.77, and Alex Diaz, 77th in 23:36.52. In the team competition, the Junior Varsity Boys were 6th. Juan Cumatz and Vicente Lopez were medal winners.

On Thursday, September 28th, several Fillmore athletes will travel to Portland, Oregon and compete in the Portland XC Invite. This cross-country meet will be contested on September 30th on the Clackamas Community College 5K Course located in Oregon City.

Written by Epi Torres

On Friday, September 15th, the cross country teams traveled to the Silver Lakes Sports Complex in Irvine and competed in the highly acclaimed Woodbridge Invitational. Fillmore ran in the White Division with races scheduled throughout the day beginning at 5 p.m. This meet was contested on a relatively flat course, under the lights, over grass and pavement.

The girl’s sophomore race was Fillmore’s first race of the night. Miley Tello was the top finisher in 33rd place in a time of 23:04.5. Teammate Jannet Vega finished in 60th place, posting a personal best time of 24:46.8. Miley was a medal winner in this race.

In the Junior-Senior race, Jacqueline Olivares was the lone competitor for the Flashes. Jackie ran to a 25th place finish in 22:09.0, she was also a medal winner.

In the Senior Boys race, Kobe Lizarraga led 5 team members to a 2nd place team finish. This was Fimmirrs highest team finish on the day. Kobe finished in 11th place in a time of 17:47.3. He was followed by Nick Cabrales 15th in 18:03.8, Juan Cumatz 26th in 18:31.8, Vicente Lopez 33rd in 18:40.0, and Juan Castro 117th in 22:14.0. The top four finishers for Fillmore were medal winners in this race.

Leading the Girls Varsity team to a 4th place finish was senior Nataly Vigil. Nataly raced to a 10th place finish in a personal best time of 18:50.1. She was followed by Niza Laureano 21st in 19:25.2, Diana Santa Rosa 44th in 20:35.8, Leah Barragan 58th in 20:54.7, Jessica Orozco 65th in 21:02.2, Alexandra Martinez 71st in 22:10.9, and Joseline Orozco 82nd in 21:33.0. All the girls in this race were medal winners.

In the final race of the evening, Eddie Vigil ied the Varsity boys to 5th place team finish by capturing 11th place in a time of 16:01.3. He was followed by Angel Garcia 16th in 16:0718, Omar Heredia 60th in 16:57.5, Diego Ramirez 69th in 17:05.9, Josh Estrada 73rd in 17:07.7, Angel Laureano 82nd in 17:15.5, and Martin Manzo 144th in 18:03.9. The top 6 Fillmore runners in this race medaled.

The Flashes will next return to College Park in Oxnard on Friday, September 22nd and compete in the Raider Invitational. The first race is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.